Often my favorite shots are serendipitous and this image of a single Gentoo penguin on an iceberg is one of those cases. Here along the Antarctic Peninsula, Gentoos live on just a few islands.

As we approached slowly in the Zodiac there were several penguins sitting and standing on the iceberg, and I remember thinking to myself that it would really be cool if there were only one. As if on cue, three of them dove into the water leaving the one. I expected the straggler to follow, but it stayed as if reading my mind.

By remaining on the iceberg, the single penguin on its little chunk of ice became a metaphor for dwindling ice packs throughout the world. I wanted to show the enormity of this penguin’s world so I chose to use a 16-35mm f/2.8 wide angle lens while holding a graduated neutral density filter to give the sky more impact. The deeper gray of the sky also brings out the deep blue hues of the icebergs in the distance. On sunny days the opposite is true; the brighter sky diminishes the color of the ice. I also did something I don’t normally do: I put the subject in the center of the frame. By doing this I am making a statement about the vast expanse of this environment and the limits of the ice.

I have three trips to Antarctica coming up. Two are sold out but you can get on the wait-list:

Earlier this year Art’s photographs appeared in DOGS magazine in Germany. Writer Katharina Jakob explores the link between children and their pets in Eine Kleine Welt (A Small World). Click the photo to see the whole article. In Europe? Get a copy of DOGS magazine HERE

National Wildlife Week 2014 is March 17th-23rd and will celebrate wildlife and water. Water is a life source for all living creatures (whether human, animal or plant) and we all depend on having clean waterways.

Get off your manatee and come to Tampa to see Art present his Art of Composition Seminar this weekend.

Drawing from 36 years of international travel, Art will delve into a vast range of subjects; from discovering the subject to elements of design and even new works. Imagery of nature, wildlife and the world’s varied landscapes will round out the curriculum to provide the most comprehensive and imaginative class available.

John Shaw says:Experiencing an Art Wolfe lecture is a journey into the mind of a master photographer. Art takes you along as he finds striking graphics hidden within the chaos of our surroundings. I highly recommend attending.

I can say without reservation that this trip to Ladakh’s Hemis National Park was a great return to the Himalayas. I found the snow leopards extraordinarily difficult to photograph at close range. And yet with time and serendipity it is quite possible a snow leopard could walk directly through camp. Unfortunately, we experienced neither. We literally worked our butts off. I lost about 7 pounds in a week, hiking the trails every day at elevations between 12 and 14,000 feet. The dance ceremony was at the Likir Monastery, near Leh. Held annually, it commemorates the “letting go” of the previous year’s hardships. While at times disappointing, on a whole, the trip was fascinating and ultimately rewarding.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided to proclaim March 3, the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as World Wildlife Day, to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.